Rule Text
(a) When a defendant is held for court, or after the issuing authority receives notice that the case will be presented to the indicting grand jury and closes out the case, the issuing authority shall prepare a transcript of the proceedings. The transcript shall contain all the information required by these rules to be recorded on the transcript. It shall be signed by the issuing authority, and have affixed to it the issuing authority’s seal of office.
(b) The issuing authority shall transmit the transcript to the clerk of the proper court within five days after holding the defendant for court or after closing out the case upon receipt of the notice that the case will be presented to the indicting grand jury.
(c) In addition to this transcript the issuing authority also shall transmit the following documents:
(1) the original complaint or a copy thereof if electronically transmitting the transcript and associated documents;
(2) the summons or the warrant of arrest and its return;
(3) all affidavits filed in the proceeding;
(4) the appearance or bail bond for the defendant, if any, or a copy of the order committing the defendant to custody;
(5) a request for the court of common pleas to issue a bench warrant as required in Rule 543(D)(3)(b);
(6) notice informing the court of common pleas that the defendant has failed to comply with the fingerprint order as required in Rule 543(D)(3)(b)(ii); and
(7) a copy of the notice that the case will be presented to the indicting grand jury.
(d) Electronic Transmission.
(1) The president judge by local rule may require the transcript and any associated documents to be electronically scanned and transmitted to the clerk of courts in digital format in lieu of transmitting the physical paper transcript and associated documents.
(2) The electronically scanned transcript and associated documents shall constitute the original documents for purposes of these rules.
(3) The issuing authority shall retain the physical paper transcript and associated documents as may be required by rule of court or records retention policies.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 547 amended August 24, 2004, effective August 1, 2005, 34 Pa.B. 5016; amended May 1, 2007, effective September 4, 2007, 37 Pa.B. 2496; amended July 10, 2008, effective February 1, 2009, 38 Pa.B. 3971; amended June 21, 2012, effective in 180 days, 42 Pa.B. 4140; amended December 23, 2013, effective March 1, 2014, 44 Pa.B. 239; amended November 30, 2023, effective immediately, 53 Pa.B. 7724; amended May 2, 2024, effective April 1, 2025, 54 Pa.B. 2738. Immediately preceeding text appears at serial pages (404414) and (417703) to (417704).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When a defendant is held for court, the judge or magistrate who handled the early stages of the case must prepare an official written record of what happened. This record is called a transcript. It must be signed and stamped with the official seal. Within five days, it must be sent to the clerk of the higher court that will handle the case going forward.
Along with the transcript, the magistrate must also send several other documents. These include the original complaint, the arrest warrant, any sworn statements filed in the case, and the defendant's bail paperwork or a custody order. If the defendant failed to get fingerprinted as ordered, the court must be notified about that too.
Some courts allow all of these documents to be sent electronically instead of on paper. When that happens, the digital versions count as the official originals. The magistrate still needs to hold onto the paper copies based on local rules or records policies.
Committee Notes
See Rule 135 for the general contents of the transcript. There are a number of other rules that require certain things to be recorded on the transcript to make a record of the proceedings before the issuing authority. See, e.g., Rules 542(G)(1) and 543.
When the case is held for court pursuant to Rule 543(D)(3), the issuing authority must include with the transcript transmittal a request for the court of common pleas to issue a bench warrant.
When the case is held for court pursuant to Rule 543(D)(3)(b)(ii), the issuing authority must include with the transcript transmittal a notice to the court of common pleas that the defendant has not complied with the fingerprint order issued pursuant to Rule 510(C)(2). See Pa.R.Crim.P. 543(D)(3)(b)(ii). The court of common pleas shall take whatever actions deemed appropriate to address this non-compliance.
See Chapter 5 Part E for the procedures governing indicting grand juries. Pursuant to Rule 556.2(A)(3), the judge shall notify the issuing authority that the case will be presented to the indicting grand jury. Pursuant to Rule 556.2(A)(3)(a), upon receipt of the notice, the issuing authority shall close out the case in his or her office, and forward it to the court of common pleas for all further proceedings. When the case is transmitted to the court of common pleas, the clerk of courts should associate the transcript and other documents transmitted by the issuing authority with the motion and order filed pursuant to Rule 556.2(A)(5).
When arrest warrant information has been sealed pursuant to Rule 513.1, the arrest warrant information already will have been filed with the clerk of courts. When the case is transmitted to the court of common pleas, the clerk of courts should associate the transcript and other documents transmitted by the issuing authority with the original file created for the sealing procedure.
For when the magisterial district court or the Philadelphia Municipal Court is required to transmit the contact information of the victim to the court of common pleas, see 18 P.S. § 11.201(2)(iii)(B).
